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Selling Your Art – Part IX (CafePress vs Zazzle)

Yesterday I wrote a post asking Which Mug Do You Prefer? I showed two mugs that I created – one at CafePress and one at Zazzle and asked which people preferred.Â More questions also came up from this post .. so I thought I would do another show and tell.Â Further down are the links to the earlier parts of this ongoing series about marketing.

This is the original image that I have started with – one of my vibrant, colorful paintings.Â It is a photograph of my best kitty that then I have digitally enhanced. Felicia Kramer asked “Question: did you do anything different when you submitted your artwork to the sites or was it basically identical?” Â This is a fantastic question, Felicia, because I did do something very different.

CafePress and Zazzle each have templates that you can download so you can make sure you are prepping your files correctly to make your work come out great!Â The first picture above is the template for the mug at CafePress … so you can see that I have put 2 sets of images there to be placed on the mug.Â Most people only put one image so I thought putting 2 images was very creative!

When I started at Zazzle – quite a bit later – I realized that I wanted people to be able to see my lovely kitty, Freckles, even more clearly – so I can up with using the image 3 times.Â So this is one big difference.Â I want to emphasize that the templates to begin with are not identical.

But there are a couple of other differences also.Â The size of the 2 mugs are different …. I forget which is larger … but the image sits on the mug in various ways …you can see that from the pictures from yesterday’s post – there are links there to the actual mugs.Â It looks like there is a lid to the Zazzle mug – I am not sure.Â And obviously, Zazzle markets their mugs in an unusual way …Â CafePress has the photo of the mug straight on – but Zazzle is at an angle and I think it is a very creative way to show a mug.

Awhile ago were Part I,Â Part II, Part III, Part IVraman amplifier, Part V, Part VI,Â Part VII and Part VIII in this art marketing series – this is all in response to Sue O’Kieffe of Sacred Circle Mandalas (http://sacred-circle-mandalas.blogspot.com) who recently wrote me “i am curious to know out of all the ways you sell your art, which is the most profitable for you and which is the most enjoyable?” I have been getting some good feedback from various people that this is being helpful to them.Â There are a lot of details in all theses other posts too.

I welcome hearing from others what your experiences and thoughts are!!Â We may differ for sure!Â I hope that we can help each other know the strengths of each shop.Â Please feel free to ask questions to get more information – I am glad to share what I can and so are others! … thanks for coming by!!

Diane Clancy creates vibrant paintings that feature color and vision to inspire and uplift people. Says Diane, â€œI feel that I am very blessed to have this opportunity to express myself through painting. I love that people say my artwork enhances their lives.â€

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Selling Your Art – Part IX (CafePress vs Zazzle) — 14 Comments

Thanks for answering my question, Diane. The templates give the size dimensions but not placement, so last night I was pulling out all my mugs and inspecting how/where the art was placed! Some of my mugs were like your Cafepress mug with two images, but I really like the 3 images you did with the Zazzle mug. Your posts on this topic have been very helpful. Thanks!

Diane,
I have to admit that I never did try Zazzle. It was explained to me a long time ago though. I never tried it. Perhaps in the future….do not know….Anyway, thank you for sharing with us! 🙂
*HUGS*
Angela

Karen Casey-Smith wrote: Diane, have you seen each of the mugs in person? Which do you prefer for quality of the image? Thanks for sharing your research!

Diane wrote: Thank you, Judy! Karen, I have not seen the Zazzle mug – but I do have the CafePress mug. I have heard from others that the quality is good at Zazzle. And I consider the mug good quality at CafePress. Thanks for asking!!

Thank you everyone for your comments … I am going to continue this process as people ask me questions … and also there will be an overview about WHY I have chosen the path I have in marketing.

By way of a recommendation – Chris Guillebeau http://chrisguillebeau.com/3×5/ has made several posts about profiting/marketing your artwork covering the choices that folks can make using modern technology.

Something else to consider is bypassing Cafepress/Zazzle if thats an option for you. I detail the options on my site (sell eBooks and software online) and the approaches taken are equally applicable to any form of digital content (photography, audio, ebooks, etc.).

I started with zazzle about a month ago (just over now). I managed 2 sales before the end of my first month and that has really ignited my motivation to design great products. I have not signed up with cafepress yet but it sounds like I should try a shop there next. I am getting close to having a satisfying range of designs and products so as to shift focus to cafepress next. My aunt was my 3rd and 4th sale and she has been very impressed with the quality of both the shipping and the quality of the items she bought. Thanks for getting me thinking about doing a little cross comparison with the two options 🙂

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